After 14 Democrat members of the U.S. House of Representatives wrote a letter to President Donald Trump asking him to remove Kash Patel, acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), from his leadership post, one gun rights group is leading the resistance to the request.
On March 3, the anti-gun lawmakers, calling themselves the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, sent the letter to President Trump, spouting lies early in the correspondence.
“At a time when gun violence is the leading cause of death for children and teenagers in the United States, it is unconscionable that someone without experience fighting crime, responding to mass shootings or confronting domestic terrorism has been named as ATF’s Acting Director,” the letter, which lied about the children part, stated.
After lying about several other topics including violent crime falling during the Biden Administration, the alleged “success” of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) and so-called “red-flag” laws saving lives, the House members wrapped up the letter with a personal attack on Patel.
“Running ATF is a deadly serious job,” the letter concluded. “Naming an unqualified partisan to oversee our federal gun violence prevention laws is a disservice to the American people an offensive to every American child who has grown up fearful of gun violence in their schools and communities. We urge you to name a qualified director at ATF who will faithfully administer laws that keep Americans safe.”
The letter didn’t sit well with the leaders of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA), who suggested in a news release that the lawmakers “pound sand,” while also pointing out some of the lies in the letter.
“Apparently, everybody who signed that letter slept through last year’s stunning revelation that the FBI’s initial report of a 1.7 percent decrease in violent crime from 2021 to 2022 was quietly adjusted to show a 4.5 percent increase,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “House Oversight Chair James Comer launched a probe of this revision last October.”
Gottlieb speculated that the Democrats are primarily concerned that Patel may attempt to reverse some of the unconstitutional Final Rules issued by the agency during the Biden Administration, which weaponized the ATF against gun owners, sellers and manufacturers.
“Maybe these Democrats are concerned that Patel will investigate possible abuses the agency allegedly committed during the Biden years,” Gottlieb said. “While they complain how ‘it is unconscionable that someone without experience fighting crime, responding to mass shootings or confronting domestic terrorism has been named as ATF’s Acting Director,’ under Patel’s leadership at FBI, the agency has just caught its third ‘Most Wanted’ fugitive since President Trump took office.”
Ultimately, Gottlieb said that those signing on to the letter are merely gun-ban advocates who have consistently been on the wrong side of the Second Amendment debate.
“Capitol Hill Democrats are delighted to have an ATF which gets mixed up in colossal debacles like Operation Fast and Furious or canceling federal firearms licenses because a small dealer might make a technical paperwork error,” he said. “Yet, where have these Democrats been when their colleagues have championed legislation making it tougher for law-abiding citizens to exercise their full rights under the Second Amendment? Where were they when Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were advocating for gun bans and restrictions on the rights of young adults? They were right there pushing for and cheering such infringements.”
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